


An Ocean of Devotion

by hapgen



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, MH Summer Gift Exchange 2018, MH on a beach? Heck yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 15:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15222029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hapgen/pseuds/hapgen
Summary: “Haru, I know what you’re thinking. I don’t want to go either…”Haruka blinked in surprise.





	An Ocean of Devotion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [freaky_hanyou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/freaky_hanyou/gifts).



Haruka noted that the air in Iwatobi was as salty as ever. He took a slow, deep breath, attempting to memorize the smell and feeling of the breeze wafting through the air. The wind in Iwatobi was different than the wind in Tokyo. Tokyo had a gusty wind that carried the smell of salt, but it lacked the freshness that Iwatobi did. In all honesty, that’s what Haruka thinks he will miss the most about Iwatobi itself: the air. Iwatobi was open and free. On the other hand, Tokyo was closed off. However, it did have some areas that made it feel less closed-off than other parts of the city- such as the parks near the community centers.

Yet, Haruka couldn’t help but feel melancholic. He was going to miss Iwatobi. Tokyo could never compare to Iwatobi. The only thing Tokyo had was a nice, Olympic-sized pool- and, soon enough, Makoto.

“Haru!”

Speak of devil, Haruka turned away from the ocean to look at his- friend, his close friend, jogging towards him. Makoto stopped next to him and let out a sigh. He looked flushed- had he run all the way from the high school to here?

“Sorry it took me so long, Haru. I had to run back home from school to change,” He said, gesturing to his swim trunks, “then I had to call Nagisa and Rei to make sure they’re still coming. Gou-chan will be here, too.”

Haruka hummed in reply. “When?”

“Oh! Um,” Makoto tucked his towel under his arm and pulled out his phone,” they’re supposed to be here in an hour or so. Looks like we have time for ourselves!”

Haruka smiled softly. “Yeah, it seems so.”

Makoto smiled in return, then looked for a place to set down his things. Once he spotted Haruka’s bag, he set his stuff down right next to it. “Oh, did you already put sunscreen on, Haru?” He asked, holding up his bottle.

Haruka nodded, “Yes.”

Makoto slowly scanned Haruka’s body, then looked at him right in the eyes. Green searched blue carefully. “Did you really put on sunscreen?”

Huffing, Haruka reached out for the sunscreen. He turned his face away from Makoto. “I never burn.” He muttered.

Makoto chuckled and stood up, squirting some of the sunscreen on to his hand. “Doesn’t mean that you will today, Haru. Nagisa burns all the time, and he’s just as pale as you. Better to be safe than sorry!” 

Haru sighed as Makoto gave him a handful of sunscreen. Quietly, they both rubbed the sunscreen onto themselves, making sure that every inch was covered. As much as Haruka hated to say it- Makoto was right, he could burn. Going to Tokyo with a sunburn would suck. But, there were worse things in life. Like… not having enough mackerel for his first week there. That would be dreadful.

“So, Haru? What do you want to do?” Makoto shed off his shirt and tilted his head. His brunet hair was ruffled from the salty breeze from before, and Haru felt the sudden urge to run his hands through it. Makoto’s hair looked soft- and he needed to fix it. He could already see lots of tangles forming. Haruka pursed his lips together. All he would hear later is how much Makoto hated brushing his hair.

Makoto blinked in surprise when Haruka stepped forward, kicking off his flip-flops and placing one of his hands ontop of his head. “Um, Haru? What’s wrong? Is there something in my- ouch!” Makoto winced and placed his hand on top of Haruka’s. “That hurt! Why are you tugging on my hair?!”

“It’s knotted up.” Haruka stated, before pulling Makoto down to his level. He tsked, “You’re too tall.”

Makoto felt his face heat up as he looked down at the sand covering their feet. Haruka was little closer than before. “W-well, the doctor said that I had a little more growing to do, so I might get even taller. I wish I would stop growing- I hate having to buy new pants.”

Haruka ran his hands through Makoto’s hair a few more times, every pull making Makoto wince. “I could’ve brushed my hair later, Haru.” He said, then straightened back up. He happened to catch Haruka’s disappointed expression, which quickly morphed back into one of nonchalance. Makoto felt a little surprised- Haruka wasn’t the biggest fan of close quarters, even with him. Did that mean…

“You would’ve complained later.”

Makoto sputtered, knocked out of his thoughts, “I wouldn’t have!”

Haruka let out a small chuckle, “Yes, you would’ve.” A small smile splayed across his lips as he turned to walk towards the ocean.

“Haru…” Makoto whined, jogging forward to catch up with Haruka. “Thanks for combing my hair, but it hurt.” 

“…sorry.” Haruka replied. He dipped his foot into the waves that were gently lapping onto the shore. It was colder than he thought it would be.

Makoto continued walking into the ocean until he was knee-deep. He turned his head and smiled at Haruka- and in all honesty, Haruka believed that this was a sight he never wanted to forget. The water was moving fluidly around Makoto’s legs, which were tanned and strong. The late afternoon sunshine practically made Makoto glow, and Haruka found himself staring into those bright green pools longer than he would ever stare at the tumultuous ocean. Salty air continued to ruffle Makoto’s hair, the brunet locks brushing back and forth. 

Haruka never wanted this moment to end. He didn't want to leave Iwatobi, with its bright blue oceans and familiar air and all his memories of Makoto. He never wanted to wait till a break from school came along to revisit moments like this, no… Haruka took a few steps forward into the water, keeping his deep, blue eyes trained on Makoto’s figure. He stretched out his hand, and was not surprised to feel the tight grip of another hand. Haruka felt himself being pulled forward, no longer by the magnetic force of his best friend, but by the guiding hand of his…

His what?

Makoto pulled him into a hug, the water swishing around their legs. Haruka felt Makoto bury his face into his black hair, and he could swear that he also heard some light sniffles.

“Haru, I know what you’re thinking. I don’t want to go either…” 

Haruka blinked in surprise.

“But, at the same time, I’m looking really forward to going to Tokyo. You know why?” Makoto leaned back, showing Haruka his glassy eyes and watery smile.

Haruka carefully shook his head.

Makoto’s smile grew, “Because I’m going to make even more memories with you. And, you know, I’m so excited to make them, Haru! I can’t wait to wake up in the morning to meet you at your apartment, then go down to the train station together, meet up for lunch, study together- Haru, I really can’t wait!” Makoto looked breathless once he finished, having spoken so passionately for such a long moment.

Haruka let out a breath his was unknowingly holding, and seeing the pure, unbridled joy radiating off of Makoto made him want to smile. So, he did. He let himself smile, because he too felt excitement. Yes, he was going to miss Iwatobi and the memories he had made over the 18 years of living here, but he was overjoyed with the idea that he would make so many more memories in Tokyo. Every single one of those would be something to remember, whether he was swimming with his teammates in the pool or sitting on a park bench with Makoto. It didn’t matter.

He felt a short laugh escape his mouth, and he was just as surprised as the look on Makoto’s face. For a moment they both stood there, the waves starting to get a little rougher and the sun starting to get a little lower. Haruka had his arms wrapped tightly around Makoto’s back, his eyes boring right into Makoto’s.

“Hey, Haru?”

Haruka tilted his head, “Makoto?”

Makoto’s face was pink, whether it was from the sunset or not, Haruka didn’t know. Either way, it was absolutely gorgeous. Haruka hoped that he would see this Makoto more often. He watched as Makoto bit his lip in nervousness, his eyes revealing just how hard it was for him to say whatever he was about to say:

“Um. So.” Makoto paused, trying his best to keep himself together.

Considering that they were in a very close, intimate embrace in the water during a perfect sunset, Haruka was surprised that Makoto couldn’t bring himself to just get a move on. 

Makoto relaxed his hold on Haruka, a light, anxious smile on his face. “I don’t know what to say, Haru-chan.” He admitted, shyly not meeting Haruka’s gaze.

“Drop the -chan.”

“Haru…!” Makoto chided, lightly smacking him on the shoulder. “I probably shouldn’t have said that, ha…” He muttered as he looked down at the water.

“It’s my bad, I ruined the mood.” Haruka said softly. He ran his hands across Makoto’s back (was there more muscle there than he remembered?) and sighed.

Makoto leaned down a bit to meet Haruka’s eyes. That green held a playful little twinkle in them as he said: “There was a mood? What kind of mood, Haru?”

Haruka began to feel his own face heat up. He probably looked just as pink as Makoto, if not more on the red side. They probably made a pretty picture- two young, muscular men embracing in the water. He would have to try painting it later, perhaps.

“A nice mood.” Haruka replied, meeting Makoto’s eyes. It was much more intense than he thought it would be. Their faces were only a few inches apart.

Makoto a deep breath, “Can I ask you something?” He looked a little worried, but excited nonetheless.

Haruka nodded.

“Can I kiss you, Haru?”

Haruka felt his heart skip a million beats. It rolled like the waves, each pulse synchronizing with the crashing from the shoreline. He was sure that his eyes were wide, just like Makoto’s were, with his pupils blown and the color barely visible. He glanced down at Makoto’s lips- yes. Yes, he would absolutely kiss him.

Haruka nodded fervently, then quickly leaned forward. Makoto seemed to have the same idea, since they met right in the middle. All Haruka heard was static, the waves being drowned out by the white noise. He was wrapped around Makoto and Makoto was wrapped around him. It was as if they were nowhere for a moment. No sea breeze, no seagulls flapping their wings, no waves slipping in-between their legs… all he felt was Makoto. All he felt was their bond.

As quickly as it happened, it ended. They leaned back, their eyes meeting in the heat of the moment. Haruka could tell that Makoto was just as blown away by this as he was. They stood there for a minute, letting their eyes slip close as they pulled each other into a tight embrace.

Haruka let out a long, slow sigh. He pulled back from the embrace just enough to look at Makoto, who looked absolutely blissed. His smile was wide and joyful, and the corners of his eyes were wrinkled with genuine happiness. Haruka wanted to run back to shore, grab his unused phone, and take a photo of Makoto. He never wanted to forget that expression. Haruka knew that he had been staring in awe at Makoto for a few more seconds than necessary, but he couldn’t help it. Haruka felt… really happy.

He couldn’t help but feel _so_ excited for the future.

**Author's Note:**

> My summer exchange gift for albatrossmuffin on tumblr for MH Summer Gift Exchange! Their prompt was: "Since it's summer, I would like a beach theme :D On the beach, in the water, day at the beach, etc. Could be cute, silly, sexy, fluffy, I like all of them (also NSFW is also fine, but again not sure if that's a thing for this or not, but I'll say anyway just in case)."
> 
> With this prompt, I really wanted to discuss how Haruka probably feels about leaving Iwatobi (sorry for that little bit of angst in there- I mean, it's not hardcore angst, so... I'm sorry if what's here is too much!) and leaving behind all those memories from the past 18 years. Also, cute kisses? Getting together? In the water? Sunsets? Woohoo!
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed reading this!


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